Off-road vehicle suspension monitoring and adjustment system

ABSTRACT

A suspension monitoring and adjustment system for an off-road vehicle includes a distance sensor arranged to measure shock displacement of a suspension of the vehicle. The system may include an output device configured to output shock displacement data generated by the distance sensor and a processor or programmable circuit operable to produce a visual representation of the shock displacement data output by the output device. The system may include a processor or programmable circuit operable to generate an adjustment signal based on shock displacement data generated by the distance sensor and a suspension adjuster arranged to adjust the suspension of the vehicle in response to the adjustment signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to off-road vehicles, and morespecifically to adjusting off-road vehicle suspensions.

Description of the Related Art

Off-road vehicles such as dirt bikes, mountain bikes, and ATVs havenumerous adjustable suspension settings that affect the ride andperformance of the vehicle. Because the effects of these settings areinterrelated, it is often difficult for a rider to determine exactlywhich suspension setting to adjust when experiencing a problem with thevehicle. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that the appropriatesuspension settings for a vehicle depend not just on the particularrider but on the particular terrain and even the particular course. As aresult, many riders are intimidated by suspension settings and never tryto adjust them. These riders miss out on the full potential of theirvehicle. Even in the case of experienced riders who have put in the timeto learn how to tune their suspensions, the process of adjustingsuspension settings is conventionally a trial-and-error processrequiring a great amount of experimentation.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for systems and methods ofadjusting off-road vehicle suspension settings that overcome the abovedrawbacks accompanying the related art. Various aspects of the presentdisclosure address these particular needs, as will be discussed in moredetail below.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure, thereis provided a suspension monitoring and adjustment system for anoff-road vehicle. A distance sensor is provided on the vehicle tomeasure shock displacement of the suspension while the vehicle traversesa course. Based on the accumulated shock displacement data, an externaldevice may produce a graph of the shock displacement data (e.g. shockdisplacement as a function of time), providing the rider with the entireshock displacement history for the course. By observing various featuresof the graph (e.g. bottom-outs, repeated shock compressions resulting inpacking, average/maximum displacement, etc.), the rider may thenefficiently tune the suspension settings of the vehicle. Alternatively,or additionally, an on-vehicle processor may apply various rules andthresholds to automatically generate one or more suspension adjustmentsignals as the rider traverses the course. Actuators arranged to adjustthe suspension settings may receive the suspension adjustment signal(s)and make appropriate suspension setting adjustments on the fly.

One aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure is a suspensionmonitoring and adjustment system for an off-road vehicle. The systemincludes a distance sensor arranged to measure shock displacement of asuspension of the vehicle, an output device communicatively coupled tothe distance sensor and configured to output shock displacement datagenerated by the distance sensor, and a non-transitory program storagemedium on which are stored instructions. The instructions are executableby a processor or programmable circuit to produce a visualrepresentation of the shock displacement data output by the outputdevice.

The distance sensor may include a frame-side part disposed at a locationon the vehicle that is stationary relative to a frame of the vehicle anda wheel-side part disposed in optical communication with the frame-sidepart at a location on the vehicle that is stationary relative to a wheelor a suspension linkage of the vehicle.

The non-transitory program storage medium may be included in a mobiledevice including a processor or programmable circuit for executing theinstructions. The instructions may be executable by the processor orprogrammable circuit to display the visual representation of the shockdisplacement data on a display of the mobile device.

The visual representation of the shock displacement data may include agraph of shock displacement over time.

The output device may be communicatively coupled to a speedometer of thevehicle and configured to output speed data generated by thespeedometer. The instructions may be executable by the processor orprogrammable circuit to further produce a visual representation of thespeed data output by the output device.

The output device may include a data port and may be configured tooutput the shock displacement data to removable media or an externaldevice via the data port.

The output device may include a wireless transmitter and may beconfigured to output the shock displacement data wirelessly via thewireless transmitter.

Another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure is asuspension monitoring and adjustment system for an off-road vehicle. Thesystem includes a distance sensor arranged to measure shock displacementof a suspension of the vehicle, a non-transitory program storage mediumon which are stored instructions, and a processor or programmablecircuit communicatively coupled to the distance sensor and operable toreceive shock displacement data generated by the distance sensor andperform the instructions stored on the non-transitory program storagemedium. The instructions are executable by the processor or programmablecircuit to generate an adjustment signal based on the shock displacementdata generated by the distance sensor. The system further includes asuspension adjuster communicatively coupled to the processor orprogrammable circuit and arranged to adjust the suspension of thevehicle in response to the adjustment signal.

The distance sensor may include a frame-side part disposed at a locationon the vehicle that is stationary relative to a frame of the vehicle anda wheel-side part disposed in optical communication with the frame-sidepart at a location on the vehicle that is stationary relative to a wheelor a suspension linkage of the vehicle.

The processor or programmable circuit may be communicatively coupled toa speedometer of the vehicle and operable to receive the speed datagenerated by the speedometer. The instructions may be executable by theprocessor or programmable circuit to generate the adjustment signalfurther based on the speed data.

The suspension adjuster may include a shock pump arranged to increase ordecrease air pressure in a fork or shock of the suspension in responseto the adjustment signal.

The suspension adjuster may include an actuator arranged to turn acompression adjuster or a rebound adjuster of the suspension in responseto the adjustment signal.

Another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure is a methodof monitoring and adjusting a suspension of an off-road vehicle. Themethod includes providing a distance sensor arranged to measure shockdisplacement of the suspension of the vehicle and adjusting thesuspension of the vehicle based on shock displacement data generated bythe distance sensor.

The method may include producing a visual representation of the shockdisplacement data generated by the distance sensor. The adjusting mayinclude adjusting the suspension of the vehicle based on the visualrepresentation. The method may include recording the shock displacementdata generated by the distance sensor on removable media or an externaldevice. The method may include wirelessly transmitting the shockdisplacement data generated by the distance sensor to a mobile device.

The method may include generating an adjustment signal based on theshock displacement data generated by the distance sensor. The adjustingmay include adjusting the suspension of the vehicle in response to theadjustment signal. The adjusting may include increasing or decreasingair pressure in a fork or shock of the suspension or turning adisplacement adjuster or a rebound adjuster of the suspension inresponse to the adjustment signal.

The present disclosure will be best understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodimentsdisclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the followingdescription and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a suspension monitoring and adjustment system according toan embodiment of the present disclosure, together with an off-roadvehicle and a mobile device;

FIG. 2A is a graphical representation of an example of shockdisplacement data;

FIG. 2B is a graphical representation of another example of shockdisplacement data;

FIG. 2C is a graphical representation of another example of shockdisplacement data;

FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of a mobile device including a programstorage medium of the suspension monitoring and adjustment system;

FIG. 4 is a schematic depiction of a data processing apparatus includingone or more features of the suspension monitoring and adjustment system;

FIG. 5 shows an example operational flow in relation to a suspensionmonitoring and adjustment system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows an example operational flow of step 530 in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 shows another example operational flow of step 530 in FIG. 5.

Common reference numerals are used throughout the drawings and thedetailed description to indicate the same elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of certain embodiments of asuspension monitoring and adjustment system for an off-road vehicle andmethod of monitoring and adjusting a suspension of an off-road vehicle.The described embodiments are not intended to represent the only formsthat may be developed or utilized. The description sets forth thevarious structure and/or functions in connection with the illustratedembodiments, but it is to be understood, however, that the same orequivalent structure and/or functions may be accomplished by differentembodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the scope ofthe present disclosure. It is further understood that the use ofrelational terms such as first and second, and the like are used solelyto distinguish one entity from another without necessarily requiring orimplying any actual such relationship or order between such entities.

Various aspects of the present disclosure pertain to suspensionmonitoring and adjustment system specifically configured and adapted foruse with an off-road vehicle having a suspension. Along these lines, itis understood that an off-road vehicle suspension may include, in thecase of a two-wheeled vehicle, a pair of fork tubes (also referred to asforks) connected between the handlebars and the front wheel. Each of thefork tubes has a telescoping structure allowing for compression in thelongitudinal direction according to the characteristics of an interiorshock absorber or shock, which typically is hydraulic in the case of adirt bike and pneumatic in the case of a mountain bike. Compressing thefork tubes (i.e. pushing down on the handlebars) decreases the distancebetween the frame of the vehicle and the front wheel. An off-roadvehicle suspension may further include, again in the case of atwo-wheeled vehicle, a rear shock connected between the body of thevehicle and the rear wheel or between the body of the vehicle and asuspension linkage that connects to a swingarm connected to the rearwheel. Compressing the rear shock (i.e. pushing down on the vehicle)decreases the distance between the frame of the vehicle and the rearwheel or suspension linkage. Off-road vehicles having more than twowheels (e.g. ATVs) may similarly include shocks whose compressiondecreases the distance between the frame of the vehicle and one or morewheels or suspension linkages.

As used herein, shock displacement may generally refer to the distancethat a shock is compressed from a fully extended position, the distancethat a shock is extended from a fully compressed position, the distancethat a frame/wheel or frame/linkage system is compressed from a fullyextended position due to the compression of an associated shock, or thedistance that a frame/wheel or frame/linkage system is extended from afully compressed position due to the extension of an associated shock.Depending on how shock displacement is measured (e.g. which points onthe vehicle are used to measure the relevant distance), a maximum shockdisplacement may or may not equate to a shock stroke or suspensiontravel as customarily defined.

It is further understood that off-road vehicle suspension settings areadjustable by means of various manual adjusters (e.g. knobs rotabable bya flathead screwdriver) as well as in some cases by means of increasingor decreasing air pressure in a shock, for example, using a shock pump,the latter means more typical in the case of a mountain bike. Suchsuspension settings may include, for example, fork compression, forkrebound, rear shock compression, and rear shock rebound. Forkcompression and fork rebound may be separately adjustable for each forktube. Rear shock compression may include separately adjustablehigh-speed and low-speed compression adjusters. In accordance with thevarious embodiments of the innovations described herein, such suspensionsettings may be efficiently adjusted, either manually or automatically,based on shock displacement data generated by one or more distancesensors disposed on the vehicle.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment ofa suspension monitoring and adjustment system 100 together with anoff-road vehicle 200. The system 100 includes one or more distancesensors 110A, 120 and a data processing apparatus 130. A distance sensor110A is arranged to measure shock displacement of a right fork tube 210Aof the vehicle 200, while a distance sensor 120 is arranged to measureshock displacement of a rear shock 220 of the vehicle 200. An additionaldistance sensor 110B (not pictured) may be arranged to measure shockdisplacement of a left fork tube 210B (not pictured) of the vehicle 200.In this regard, the distance sensor 110B may be arranged similarly tothe distance sensor 110A, except on the left side of the vehicle 200.The system may further include a non-transitory program storage medium140. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the non-transitory program storagemedium 140 is included in a mobile device 300, which includes aprocessor or programmable circuit for executing instructions (e.g. amobile app) stored on the non-transitory program storage medium 140.

As shown in FIG. 1 by way of example, the distance sensor 110A mayinclude a frame-side part 110A-1 disposed at a location on the vehicle200 that is stationary relative to a frame 230 of the vehicle 200 and awheel-side part 110A-2 disposed in optical communication with theframe-side part 110A-1 at a location on the vehicle 200 that isstationary relative to a front wheel 240 of the vehicle 200. In theexample shown, the frame-side part 110A-1 of the distance sensor 110A isdisposed on a clamp 250A that holds an upper portion of the right forktube 210A, while the wheel-side part 110A-2 is disposed on a right forkguard 260A. Similarly, the distance sensor 110B may include a frame-sidepart 110B-1 disposed on a clamp 250B (not pictured) that holds an upperportion of the left fork tube 210B (not pictured), while the wheel-sidepart 110B-2 may be disposed on a left fork guard 260B (not pictured).Along the same lines, the distance sensor 120 may include a frame-sidepart 120-1 disposed at a location on the vehicle 200 that is stationaryrelative to a frame 230 of the vehicle 200 and a wheel-side part 120-2disposed in optical communication with the frame-side part 120-1 at alocation on the vehicle 200 that is stationary relative to a rear wheel270 or a suspension linkage 280 of the vehicle 200. In the exampleshown, the frame-side part 120-1 of the distance sensor 120 is disposednear the top of the rear shock 220 where the rear shock 220 connects tothe frame 230 of the vehicle 200, while the wheel-side part 120-2 of thedistance sensor 120 is disposed near the bottom of the rear shock 220where the rear shock 220 connects to the suspension linkage 280.

Each pair of distance sensor parts 110A-1 and 110A-2, 110B-1 and 110B-2,120-1 and 120-2 may define an optical receiver (e.g. 110A-1) and anoptical transmitter (e.g. 110A-2), with shock displacement beingmeasured on the basis of detected intensity or power of light (e.g.infrared) transmitted by the optical transmitter and received by theoptical receiver. Other known optical distance measurement techniques,such as interferometry, are also contemplated. In some cases, distancesensors 110A, 110B, and 120 may include only a single part (e.g. 110A-1,110B-1, 120-1) including both an optical transmitter and an opticalreceiver. For example, optical distance measurement of shockdisplacement may be achieved by known triangulation techniques in whicha beam of light (e.g. a laser) is transmitted by a transmitter,undergoes diffuse reflection at an opposing surface (e.g. right forkguard 260A, left fork guard 260B, suspension linkage 280), and isreceived by a receiver laterally offset from the transmitter. In thisway, shock displacement can be measured on the basis of the angle ofreception by the receiver. One benefit of this technique in the contextof off-road riding is that the critical optics can be confined to theupper part of the shock where they are less likely to become caked inmud and ineffective. Diffuse reflection at the lower part of the shockwill still occur even if mud covers the designated surface, with onlyminimally reduced measurement accuracy. As another example, a singlepart (e.g. 110A-1, 110B-1, 120-1) of a distance sensor 110A, 110B, 120may include an optical reader disposed on an outer telescoping portionof a fork tube 210A, 210B or rear shock 220 and arranged to observe acorresponding inner telescoping portion as the telescoping portionstelescope relative to each other. A series of reference marks printed onthe inner telescoping portion can be optically observed by the opticalreader (e.g. 110A-1, 110B-1, 120-1) to determine shock displacementbased on the relative positions of the telescoping portions.

Non-optical distance measurement techniques are also contemplated. Forexample, each pair of distance sensor parts 110A-1 and 110A-2, 110B-1and 110B-2, 120-1 and 120-2 may define a pair of accelerometers (i.e.one in each part), with shock displacement being measured on the basisof a difference between the accelerometer data generated by the pair ofaccelerometers. Other contemplated distance measurement techniques formeasuring shock displacement include ultrasonic, magnetic, inductive,and linear encoder means, any of which may be utilized by distancesensors 110A, 110B, 120.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, wires 160 are illustrated connecting thedata processing apparatus 130 to the distance sensors 110A, 120, and itis understood that corresponding wires 160 may connect the dataprocessing apparatus 130 to a distance sensor 110B (not shown) on theleft side of the bike. Wires 160 may be conveniently secured to thevehicle 200 along the vehicle 200 (e.g. by clips) so as to be generallyout of the way and unobtrusive. For example, wires 160 may run primarilyalong the frame 230 of the vehicle to the upper parts 110A-1, 110B-1,120-1 of the distance sensors 110A, 110B, 120. In the case of wiredconnection to lower parts 110A-2, 110B-2, 120-2 and/or lower suspensionadjusters 150 (described below) that are disposed on or near the wheelsof the vehicle 200, wires 160 may additionally run longitudinally downthe length of fork tubes 210A, 210B or rear shock 220, in which case thewire 160 may be secured above and below the shock with enough slack toaccommodate the displacement of the shock. Such loosely disposed portionof a wire 160 may be provided with a hard case, cover, or shield toprevent it from coming into contact with an obstacle on the course orthe rider's body. As an alternative, wireless transmission iscontemplated, particularly for wheel-side (lower) sensor parts and/orsuspension adjusters 150.

The data processing apparatus 130 may function as an output devicecommunicatively coupled to the distance sensor(s) 110A, 110B, 120 andconfigured to output shock displacement data generated by the distancesensor(s) 110A, 110B, 120. In this regard, the data processing apparatus130 may include, for example, a wireless transmitter or data port asdescribed in more detail below. At the end of a ride, day, etc., a riderof the vehicle 200 may operate the data processing apparatus 130 (e.g.by pressing a “send” button to initiate a wireless transfer, by removinga flash drive or other removable medium, by plugging in a cableconnected to an external device, etc.) to output the accumulated shockdisplacement data to an external device such as the mobile device 300.Alternatively, in the case of a wireless transmitter, the dataprocessing apparatus 130 may output shock displacement data to theexternal device as it is generated, i.e. during the ride.

The non-transitory program storage medium 140 included in the mobiledevice 300 stores instructions to produce a visual representation of theshock displacement data output by the data processing apparatus 130. Inthis regard, as noted above, the mobile device 300 may include aprocessor or programmable circuit for executing the instructions storedon the non-transitory program storage medium 140. Upon receiving theshock displacement data output by the data processing apparatus 130, aprocessor or programmable circuit of the mobile device 300 may executethe instructions stored on the program storage medium 140 to produce avisual representation of the shock displacement data. The visualrepresentation may include, for example, a graph of shock displacementover time. As a specific example, the visual representation may includeseparate line graphs corresponding to each shock (e.g. right fork tube210A, left fork tube 210B, rear shock 220) vertically aligned to share asingle time axis. By viewing the visual representation, the rider mayeasily make appropriate adjustments to the suspension of the vehicle 200as described in more detail below.

The suspension monitoring and adjustment system 100 may further includeone or more suspension adjusters 150. Depending on the mechanism bywhich suspension settings are adjusted on the vehicle 200, thesuspension adjusters 150 may take various forms. In the case of a dirtbike such as the vehicle 200 shown in FIG. 1, suspension settings maytypically be adjusted by means of compression and rebound adjusters 215located on the tops and bottoms of the fork tubes 210A, 210B and rearshock 220. Such compression and rebound adjusters 215 typically includea rotatable knob or screw that can be turned by hand or by a flatheadscrewdriver or other tool. In the case of such compression and reboundadjusters 215, a suspension adjuster 150 may include an actuatorarranged to turn a compression or rebound adjuster 215 in response to anadjustment signal (as described in more detail later). For example,adjacent to each such compression or rebound adjuster 215 may be adedicated suspension adjuster 150 for that compression or reboundadjuster 215, coupled to the data processing apparatus 130 by wires 160or a wireless connection. In other cases, as in some mountain bikes,suspension settings (e.g. compression settings) may be adjustable byincreasing or decreasing air pressure using a shock pump. In such cases,the suspension adjuster 150 may include a shock pump arranged toincrease or decrease air pressure in a fork or shock of the suspensionin response to the adjustment signal.

In a case where the vehicle 200 includes a speedometer 290, the dataprocessing apparatus 130 may further be communicatively coupled to thespeedometer 290, e.g. wirelessly or via wires 160. Thus, the dataprocessing apparatus may additionally output speed data generated by thespeedometer, and the instructions stored on the program storage medium140 may be executable by the processor or programmable circuit of theexternal device (e.g. the mobile device 300) to produce a visualrepresentation of the speed data output by the output device.Alternatively, or additionally, the data processing apparatus 130 maygenerate the adjustment signal further based on the speed data.

FIG. 2A is a graphical representation of an example of shockdisplacement data. The graphical representation shown in FIG. 2A may bean example of a visual representation (or a portion thereof) produced inaccordance with instructions stored on the program storage medium 140 ofan external device such as the mobile device 300. As the vehicle 200traverses the course, a distance sensor 110A, 110B, 120 measures shockdisplacement of a corresponding shock and generates shock displacementdata representing the shock displacement. As noted above, the exactplacement of the distance sensor 110A, 110B, 120 determines therelationship between shock displacement and shock stroke or suspensiontravel as customarily defined. In this regard, the instructions toproduce the visual representation may include instructions toappropriately convert the shock displacement data using conversionfactors taking sensor placement and vehicle construction into account.In this way, the visual representation may present useful informationabout the ride and performance of the vehicle 200. Appropriatelyconverted shock displacement data generated with respect to a rear shock220 may represent, for example, the distance between the frame 230 andrear wheel 270 of the vehicle 200, after factoring in the relationshipbetween the rear shock 220, rear wheel 270, suspension linkage 280, andswingarm.

In the example of FIG. 2A, displacement in millimeters (on the y-axis)is plotted versus time in seconds (on the x-axis), based on shockdisplacement data generated by a single distance sensor 110A, 110B, 120with respect to a single shock. As noted above, similar graphs may beproduced based on other sensors and presented in a vertically alignedmanner. If separate graphs are produced for distance sensors 110A and110B, a greater-than-expected difference between the two graphs mayindicate that the suspension settings of the fork tubes 210A, 210B arenot the same (as is typically desired). As can be seen in FIG. 2A, thedisplacement in millimeters increases and decreases as a function oftime, due to the displacement of the shock as the vehicle 200 traversesthe terrain of a course. The visual representation may further includevarious threshold markings as shown, which may be selected by a user ofthe mobile device 300 by means of a user interface generated inaccordance with the stored instructions. For example, the storedinstructions may be a mobile app including an appropriate settings menufor customizing the visual representation. In the example of FIG. 2A,maximum and minimum shock displacement thresholds are shown along withintermediate thresholds at specific displacement amounts in millimeters.By observing the relationship between the graph and the thresholds, therider or other user of the mobile device 300 may observe, for example,that the shock bottomed out once (circled region of graph) and that anappropriate percentage of suspension travel was used based on the numberof times the graph crossed the intermediate thresholds. For example, ifit is desired to use at least 50% of suspension travel, the rider mayset intermediate thresholds at levels of shock displacement representing50% of suspension travel. The rider may then check whether the graphcrossed the thresholds a minimum number of times (e.g. three) andconclude that an appropriate percentage of suspension travel was used.As a specific example, a rider may conclude that a compression settingof the shock does not need to be reduced because enough suspensiontravel was used, but that the compression setting should be slightlyincreased (e.g. one click of a compression adjuster) because of thesingle bottom-out.

FIG. 2B is a graphical representation of another example of shockdisplacement data. In the example of FIG. 2B, intermediate thresholdshave been set as in FIG. 2A. However, in the example of FIG. 2B, thegraph never crosses the intermediate thresholds. On the basis of thegraph of FIG. 2B, a rider may conclude that a compression setting of theshock needs to be reduced in order to allow the vehicle 200 to use moreof the suspension travel. The rider may adjust the compression settingaccordingly.

FIG. 2C is a graphical representation of another example of shockdisplacement data. In the example of FIG. 2C, at two points in thegraph, repeated compressions of the shock result in rapidly increasingshock displacement. On the basis of the graph of FIG. 2C, a rider mayconclude that the suspension of the vehicle 200 is packing due toinsufficient rebound speed. To address this issue, the rider may adjustthe rebound setting of the shock in order to allow the shock to reboundmore quickly. If the rider is familiar with the course (e.g. if therider just finished the course and is viewing the graph), it may beespecially easy for the rider to diagnose the issue as the rider mightrecognize (by looking at the x-axis) that the repeated compressionscorrespond to a sequence of bumps on the course.

The above represents only a few specific examples of the informationobservable from a visual representation of the shock displacement data.The visual representation might further show, for example, an averageride height (sag) of the vehicle 200 while underway as well as speed ofcompression and rebound (e.g. the slope of the distance vs. time graph).In some cases, the visual representation may inform the rider that areplacement part is needed (e.g. in the case of an inappropriate sagindicating the need for a larger spring). In a case where the outputshock displacement data is accompanied by output speed data generated bya speedometer 290 of the vehicle 200, the speed data may be included inthe visual representation, e.g. displayed as an additional line graph onthe same time axis indicating the vehicle speed corresponding to eachdata point of shock displacement. The speed data may further inform therider as to what suspension adjustments should be made. For example, areduced compression setting (a softer setting) may be appropriate whenthe vehicle 200 is moving at a lower speed. The visual representationmay highlight, expand, zoom, drill down, or otherwise graphically ornumerically present any such relevant information and/or suggesteddiagnoses and remedial measures according to preferences, settings, andselections of a user.

FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of a mobile device 300 including amemory 310, which is an example of the non-transitory program storagemedium 140 of the suspension monitoring and adjustment system 100 shownin FIG. 1. The mobile device 300 may function as an external device thatreceives shock displacement data output by the data processing apparatus130 and produces a visual representation thereof. The mobile device 300may be, for example, a smartphone, tablet, or laptop computer, with theinstructions stored in the memory 310 being a mobile app or othersoftware program. The exemplary mobile device 300 shown in FIG. 3 isschematically depicted as including, in addition to the memory 310, aprocessor 320 for executing the instructions (e.g. mobile app) stored onthe memory 310, a user input interface 330 for navigating the app (e.g.navigating a settings menu to customize the visual representation of theshock displacement data), a wireless transceiver 340 for receiving shockdisplacement data and optionally speed data transmitted by a wirelesstransmitter of the data processing apparatus 130 (e.g. via Bluetooth™,Wi-Fi, GSM, UMTS), a data port 350 for receiving shock displacement dataand optionally speed data transferred by removable media (e.g. USB flashdrive) or a direct data line (e.g. USB cable), and a display 360 fordisplaying the visual representation and other aspects of the app(settings menu, etc.). Depending on the particular output device of thedata processing apparatus 130, only one of the wireless transceiver 340and the data port 350 may be used in connection with the functionalityof the suspension monitoring and adjustment system 100, with the otherbeing omitted.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a data processing apparatus 400, whichmay be an example of the data processing apparatus 130 shown in FIG. 1.The data processing apparatus 400 receives shock displacement datagenerated by one or more distance sensors 110A, 110B, 120 arranged onthe vehicle 200 and outputs the shock displacement data for use by anexternal device in producing a visual display. Based on the visualdisplay, a rider can make appropriate adjustments to the suspension ofthe vehicle 200. Alternatively, or additionally, the data processingapparatus 400 receives the shock displacement data, compares the shockdisplacement data to one or more thresholds, and generates an adjustmentsignal used by a suspension adjuster 150 to adjust the suspension of thevehicle 200 on the fly. The data processing apparatus 400 includes adata input interface 410, a shock displacement data storage 420, a dataoutput interface 430, a wireless transmitter 440, a data port 450, anadjustment threshold evaluator 460, an adjustment threshold storage 470,and an adjustment signal generator 480.

The data input interface 410 receives shock displacement data generatedby one or more distance sensors 110A, 110B, 110C arranged to measureshock displacement of a suspension of the vehicle 200. For example, thedata input interface 410 may receive shock displacement data of a rightfork tube 210A, a left fork tube 210B, and/or a rear shock 220 generatedby a distance sensor 110A, a distance sensor 110B, and/or a distancesensor 120, respectively. The shock displacement data may be arepresentation of shock displacement as a function of time and may be inthe form of, for example, displacement in millimeters versus time inseconds. Thus, in a case where the distance sensor(s) 110A, 110B, 120generate shock displacement data with a sampling frequency of 20 Hz, theshock displacement data may include a series of shock displacementsamples at 50 millisecond intervals. The data input interface 410 mayreceive the shock displacement data from the distance sensor(s) 110A,110B, 120 by wired or wireless connection. In this regard, the datainput interface 410 may include one or more data ports for connection ofthe wires 160 and/or a wireless receiver.

Upon receiving the shock displacement data, the data input interface 410may store the received shock displacement data in the shock displacementdata storage 420. For example, the data input interface 410 may receivethe shock displacement data in real time as it is generated by thedistance sensor(s) 110A, 110B, 120 and record the data in the shockdisplacement data 420 in an accumulating manner such that the shockdisplacement data storage 420 stores all of the shock displacement datagenerated over an extended period of time, e.g. one hour, one race orcourse, one run of the vehicle 200 from engine on to engine off, etc.

The data output interface 430 outputs the accumulated shock displacementdata stored in the shock displacement data storage 420. For example,upon the completion of a relevant period of time or event (e.g. engineoff), and/or in response to an output command initiated by the rider(e.g. pressing a “send” button on the exterior of the data processingapparatus 130, inserting a USB flash drive into the data processingapparatus 130, plugging a USB cable into the data processing apparatus130), the data output interface 430 may obtain the stored shockdisplacement data from the shock displacement data storage 420 andoutput the shock displacement data, e.g. to an external device such asthe mobile device 300. More specifically, the data output interface 430may output the shock displacement data via the wireless transmitter 440(e.g. via Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi, GSM, UMTS) or via the data port 450 to aremovable medium such as an inserted USB flash drive or directly to theexternal device by a USB cable or other data line. In this way, the dataprocessing apparatus 130, 400 may function as an output devicecommunicatively coupled to one or more distance sensors 110A, 110B, 120and configured to output shock displacement data generated by thedistance sensor(s) 110A, 110B, 120. An external device such as themobile device 300 may receive the output shock displacement data andgenerate a visual representation thereof, which the rider may refer towhen making suspension adjustments as described above in relation toFIGS. 2A-2C and 3.

As noted above, the data processing apparatus 400 may alternatively oradditionally support automatic adjustment of the suspension of thevehicle 200 during the ride. In this regard, the adjustment thresholdevaluator 460 of the data processing apparatus 400 may compare the shockdisplacement data generated by the distance sensor(s) 110A, 110B, 120 toone or more thresholds stored in the adjustment threshold storage 470according to one or more rules and issue a command to the adjustmentsignal generator 480 accordingly. Many different rules and thresholdsare possible, and the present disclosure is not intended to be limitedin this regard. As a simple example, the adjustment threshold evaluator460 may receive each data point (e.g. displacement in millimeters orordered pair of displacement as a function of time) from the data inputinterface 410 one by one and compare it to a threshold representing abottoming out of the shock (e.g. 95% or 100% of shock stroke orsuspension travel). If any single data point exceeds (or reaches) thethreshold, the adjustment threshold evaluator 460 may evaluate that anincrease in a compression setting of the shock is necessary (e.g. oneclick of a compression adjuster) and issue a command to the adjustmentsignal generator 480 accordingly.

As a more complicated example, the adjustment threshold evaluator 460may buffer a plurality of data points from the data input interface 410and maintain a moving average or an average for the entire run. Theadjustment threshold evaluator 460 may then continually compare thebuffered data set to a plurality of thresholds stored in the adjustmentthreshold storage 470 as each new data point comes in or after everypredetermined number of data points. In this way, the adjustmentthreshold evaluator 460 may implement any of the rules described inrelation to FIGS. 2A-2C, such as checking whether an intermediatethreshold has been crossed a minimum number of times relative to thetotal amount of time represented by the data or checking whether aseries of compressions in a given time window exhibit increasingdisplacement characteristic of suspension packing. The adjustmentthreshold evaluator 460 can then evaluate whether an appropriatepercentage of suspension travel is being used, whether a rebound settingis appropriate, etc. on the fly and issue a command to the adjustmentsignal generator 480 accordingly.

Upon receiving a command from the adjustment threshold evaluator 460,the adjustment signal generator 480 issues an adjustment signal to oneor more of the suspension adjuster(s) 150 by wired or wirelessconnection. In this regard, the adjustment signal generator 480 mayinclude one or more data ports for connection of the wires 160 and/or awireless transmitter (or may transmit the adjustment signal via thewireless transmitter 440). The suspension adjuster(s) 150 may adjust thesuspension of the vehicle 200 in response to the adjustment signal.

As noted above, the data processing apparatus 130 may further becommunicatively coupled to a speedometer 290 of the vehicle 200. In suchcase, the data input interface 410 may additionally receive speed datafrom the speedometer 290 and store the speed data as part of the shockdisplacement data (in corresponding fashion, e.g. as an ordered tripletspecifying shock displacement, time, and vehicle speed) and the dataoutput interface 430 may further output the speed data via the wirelesstransmitter 440 or removable media port 450. Similarly, the adjustmentthreshold evaluator 460 may further evaluate the shock displacement datain relation to the corresponding speed data or average speed of thevehicle 200, issuing a command to the adjustment signal generator 480accordingly. In this way, the data processing apparatus 400 may takeinto account the speed of the vehicle 200 when evaluating whether andwhich suspension adjustments are appropriate.

The various components of the data processing apparatus 400 (interfaces,storages, etc.) may be wholly or partly embodied in an on-board computerincluding one or more processors and one or more memories and/orprogrammable circuitry such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) orprogrammable logic array (PLA). In this regard, the data processingapparatus 130 may be regarded as including a non-transitory programstorage medium on which are stored instructions executable by aprocessor or programmable circuitry to generate an adjustment signalbased on shock displacement data generated by the distance sensor(s)110A, 110B, 120, as well as a processor or programmable circuitcommunicatively coupled to the distance sensor(s) 110A, 110B, 120 andoperable to receive the shock displacement data generated by thedistance sensor(s) 110A, 110B, 120 and perform the instructions storedon the non-transitory program storage medium. For example, theadjustment threshold evaluator 460 may be an example of such a programstorage medium with coupled processor or programmable circuit. Theinstructions stored on the program storage medium may include codeexecutable by a processor or state information for execution byprogrammable circuitry.

As noted above, the structure and functionality described with respectto the data processing apparatus 400 may reside in the data processingapparatus 130 of FIG. 1. More specifically, all or a portion of the dataprocessing apparatus 400 may be included in the data processingapparatus 130. For example, in a case where automatic suspensionadjustment is not supported, the adjustment threshold evaluator 460,adjustment threshold storage 470, and adjustment signal generator 480can be omitted. As another example, in a case where visualrepresentation on an external device is not supported, the shockdisplacement data storage 420, data output interface 430, wirelesstransmitter 440, and data port 450 can be omitted.

FIG. 5 shows an example operational flow in relation to a suspensionmonitoring and adjustment system 100 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. First, one or more distance sensors 110A, 110B, 120arranged to measure shock displacement of the suspension of the vehicle200 are provided (step 510). Providing the distance sensor(s) 110A,110B, 120 may include, for example, installing the sensors on thevehicle 200 or providing the vehicle 200 with pre-installed sensors,and/or arranging or calibrating each of the sensor(s) to measure shockdisplacement of a given part of the suspension (e.g. right fork tube210A, left fork tube 210B, rear shock 220). In addition to the distancesensor(s) 110A, 110B, 120, a data processing apparatus 130, one or moresuspension adjusters 150, and/or providing wires 160 may be provided onthe vehicle 200. A program storage medium 140 storing instructions asdescribed above may further be provided, e.g. by downloading a mobileapp to a mobile device 300. With the distance sensor(s) 110A, 110B, 120and/or other components provided, shock displacement data is generatedwith the distance sensor(s) 110A, 110B, 120 (step 520). The generatedshock displacement data may be received by the data processing apparatus130, e.g. via wires 160. Lastly, the suspension of the vehicle 200 isadjusted based on the shock displacement data generated by the distancesensor(s) 110A, 110B, 120 (step 530).

FIG. 6 shows an example operational flow of step 530 in FIG. 5. Theshock displacement data generated by the distance sensor(s) 110A, 110B,120 may be output to an external device (step 610). For example, asdescribed above in relation to the exemplary data processing apparatus400, the data processing apparatus 130 may accumulate the generatedshock displacement data and record the accumulated shock displacementdata on removable media or wirelessly transmit (or transmit using acable) the accumulated shock displacement data to an external devicesuch as the mobile device 300. An external device such as the mobiledevice 300 described above in relation to FIG. 3 may thus receive theoutput shock displacement data via the removable media or wired orwireless transmission. Having received the shock displacement data, anexternal device such as the mobile device 300 may produce a visualrepresentation of the shock displacement data (step 620). The visualrepresentation may include, for example, a graph of shock displacementover time as described in relation to FIGS. 2A-2C. The rider may adjustthe suspension of the vehicle 200 based on the visual representation(step 630).

FIG. 7 shows another example operational flow of step 530 in FIG. 5. Theshock displacement data generated by the distance sensor(s) 110A, 110B,120 may be compared to one or more thresholds (step 710). For example,as described above in relation to the exemplary data processingapparatus 400, the data processing apparatus 130 may apply various rulesand thresholds to evaluate whether any of the suspension settings of thevehicle 200 should be adjusted on the fly. If it is evaluated that oneor more suspension settings should be adjusted, the data processingapparatus 130 may generate an adjustment signal accordingly (step 720),which may be transmitted by wired or wireless connection to one or moresuspension adjusters 150 on the vehicle 200. The suspension adjusters150 may adjust the suspension of the vehicle in response to theadjustment signal (step 730), e.g. by increasing or decreasing airpressure in a fork or shock or turning a compression adjuster or arebound adjuster in response to the adjustment signal.

While the vehicle 200 has been illustrated as a two-wheeled vehicle byway of example, including right and left fork tubes 210A, 210B and arear shock 220, the disclosed embodiments are not intended to be solimited. Other off-road vehicles, including four-wheeled vehicles, arealso contemplated, in which case the various compression, rebound, andother suspension setting adjusters may be located in different placesand/or adjustable by different means than the specific examplesdescribed. Such embodiments and modifications are intended to beincluded in the scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, the variouswireless transmitters and receivers described herein are not intended tobe limited to devices with exclusive transmission or receptionfunctionality and may also refer to transceivers.

The particulars shown herein are by way of example only for purposes ofillustrative discussion, and are not presented in the cause of providingwhat is believed to be most useful and readily understood description ofthe principles and conceptual aspects of the various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In this regard, no attempt is made to show any moredetail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of thedifferent features of the various embodiments, the description takenwith the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how thesemay be implemented in practice.

What is claimed is:
 1. A suspension monitoring and adjustment system foran off-road vehicle, the system comprising: a distance sensor arrangedto measure shock displacement of a suspension of the vehicle; an outputdevice communicatively coupled to the distance sensor and configured tooutput shock displacement data generated by the distance sensor; and anon-transitory program storage medium on which are stored instructionsexecutable by a processor or programmable circuit to produce a visualrepresentation of the shock displacement data output by the outputdevice, wherein the visual representation of the shock displacement dataincludes a graph of shock displacement over time.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the distance sensor includes a frame-side part disposed at alocation on the vehicle that is stationary relative to a frame of thevehicle and a wheel-side part disposed in optical communication with theframe-side part at a location on the vehicle that is stationary relativeto a wheel or a suspension linkage of the vehicle.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the non-transitory program storage medium is includedin a mobile device including a processor or programmable circuit forexecuting the instructions.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein theinstructions are executable by the processor or programmable circuit todisplay the visual representation of the shock displacement data on adisplay of the mobile device.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein theoutput device is communicatively coupled to a speedometer of the vehicleand configured to output speed data generated by the speedometer.
 6. Thesystem of claim 5, wherein the instructions are executable by theprocessor or programmable circuit to further produce a visualrepresentation of the speed data output by the output device.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the output device includes a data port and isconfigured to output the shock displacement data to removable media oran external device via the data port.
 8. The system of claim 1, whereinthe output device includes a wireless transmitter and is configured tooutput the shock displacement data wirelessly via the wirelesstransmitter.
 9. A method of monitoring and adjusting a suspension of anoff-road vehicle, the method comprising: providing a distance sensorarranged to measure shock displacement of the suspension of the vehicle;producing a visual representation of the shock displacement datagenerated by the distance sensor, the visual representation including agraph of shock displacement over time; and adjusting the suspension ofthe vehicle based on the visual representation.
 10. The method of claim9, further comprising recording the shock displacement data generated bythe distance sensor on removable media or an external device.
 11. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising wirelessly transmitting the shockdisplacement data generated by the distance sensor to a mobile device.12. The method of claim 9, further comprising: generating an adjustmentsignal based on the shock displacement data generated by the distancesensor; and adjusting the suspension of the vehicle in response to theadjustment signal.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said adjustingthe suspension of the vehicle in response to the adjustment signalincludes increasing or decreasing air pressure in a fork or shock of thesuspension or turning a compression adjuster or a rebound adjuster ofthe suspension in response to the adjustment signal.
 14. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the visual representation of the shock displacementdata includes one or more threshold markings at specific shockdisplacement amounts, each of the one or more threshold markingsarranged to be visually crossed by the graph of shock displacement overtime as the shock displacement crosses the specific shock displacementamount corresponding to the threshold marking.
 15. The system of claim14, wherein the specific shock displacement amounts corresponding to theone or more threshold markings are selectable by a user.
 16. The methodof claim 9, wherein the visual representation of the shock displacementdata includes one or more threshold markings at specific shockdisplacement amounts, each of the one or more threshold markingsarranged to be visually crossed by the graph of shock displacement overtime as the shock displacement crosses the specific shock displacementamount corresponding to the threshold marking.
 17. The system of claim16, wherein the specific shock displacement amounts corresponding to theone or more threshold markings are selectable by a user.